Early modern historian. Loves gender, women's, social & royal histories. Ventures elswhere when interest is piqued. Blog may cover above themes or something a little more random. Find me on Twitter @ruthrblair

Month: February 2018

Hampton Court Palace: Celebrating 100 years since women won partial suffrage in Britain 6 February 2018 marked 100 years since the Representation of the People Act. This afforded nearly all men, and women over thirty who met property requirements, the right to vote in Britain. The Act was a huge paradigm shift for British democracy and can be seen as a victory for both the … Continue reading Hampton Court Palace: Vote 100 – The Palace Under Attack

I recently visited Hampton Court Palace. It is cared for by Historic Royal Palaces – the charity that looks after HCP and 5 other royal residences in Britain: Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, Banqueting House and Hillsborough Castle. I’m lucky enough to live a short drive from Hampton Court Palace, in fact I volunteered there four years ago for a few months after … Continue reading Hampton Court Palace: Young Henry VIII’s Story

I’ve been nominated for this award twice in the last two weeks!! I’ve been a little slow in responding to the first nomination as work was crazy busy and if I’m completely honest I wanted to have a few more ‘history’ posts on my blog before adding another that I would keep in the ‘blogging’ category. The second nomination has given me a nudge to … Continue reading The Versatile Blogger Award

During my recent research on George IV, I stumbled across an internet site that offers primary perspectives on the reigns of George IV and William IV from a contemporary who kept a journal – ever fashionable in the nineteenth century. The Greville Memoirs, first published in 1874, are journals that cover the reigns of the monarchs at the end of the Georgian period, and those … Continue reading The Memoirs of Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville

George V became king of the United Kingdom, the British Dominions and Emperor of India in 1910 on the death of his father, Edward VII. George offered the country stability after the long reign of his grandmother was followed by the much shorter reign of his father. That said, his reign wasn’t without complication and during it George witnessed the Great War, political change with … Continue reading Thoughts on George V

One hundred years after the Representation of the People Act, which gave some qualifying females the right to vote in the UK, the exploits of the women at the vanguard of the suffrage movement still capture the the country’s imagination. Thankfully, we have a robust photographic and news archive that can take us back to pre First World War Britain when the uprising of militant … Continue reading Suffragettes – Pictures Say a Thousand Words

Thanks to Floatinggold who kindly nominated me. What a lovely surprise! If you don’t know it Floatinggold’s blog offers opinion pieces, creative writing and more – and is hugely entertaining. I’ve nominated bloggers (listed at the end of this post) whose articles I enjoy reading so that I can share the love and offer encouragement and a morale-boosting ‘well done’! My Questions: 1) Would you rather … Continue reading Sunshine Blogger Award

2017 was Ferrari’s 70th anniversary. The museum in Maranello, Italy, is one of two that is dedicated to Enzo Ferrari and his iconic car. The other is in Modena, the Museo Enzo Ferrari. You can visit their shared website here. My trip to Italy last week saw me visit the Ferrari museum at Maranello. This is not my usual pre-twentieth century post, but another … Continue reading Museo Ferrari